Senior Aerospace Jet Products Corp

About Senior Aerospace Jet Products Corp

Even a senior can be flexible. Senior plc's Flexonics division makes flexible components for vehicle exhaust and emissions control systems. The unit's sectors include Land Vehicle Emission Control (for passenger and heavy-duty diesel engines) and Industrial Process Control (for temperature/pressure). The company's larger division -- Aerospace (65% of sales) -- comprises Structures, Fluid Conveyance Systems, and Gas Turbine Engines; it manufactures non-metallic air and hydraulic systems, aero-engines, and aerostructures for military, commercial, regional, and business jet aircraft. Major OEM customers include Boeing, Cummins, Ford, and GM. Senior has 25 operations in about a dozen countries.

The company has ramped up its global aerospace, land vehicle, and energy market positions through acquisitions. In 2011 Senior purchased US-based Damar Machine, a manufacturer of precision machined parts and assemblies for the commercial aerospace industry. In 2010 the company purchased another US-based company for more than $13 million; WahlcoMetroflex manufactures dampers, expansion joints, and exhaust gas systems for the power generation, refinery, and chemical processing industries.

The acquisition of WahlcoMetroflex helped bump up the company's bottom line. Senior also realized an overall 5% increase in sales for 2010 compared to 2009. Its Aerospace and Flexonics divisions delivered 4% and 5% increases, respectively.

Aerospace is the company's larger division, generating almost 60% of Senior's revenues; military programs account for 18% of Aerospace's performance. Military programs got a boost due to higher build rates, as did the commercial sector, especially with the increased production of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner -- both Airbus and Boeing announced that they will be increasing production over the next three years, which will hype demand for Senior's components and systems. The company's regional jet segment is still experiencing a slow market recovery. Growth in geographic sectors has its own life. Aerospace markets outside of North America, particularly those in the Middle East, Asia, and China, are raising significant opportunities.

Sales in the land vehicles unit of Senior's Flexonics division increased in 2010, thanks to strong passenger vehicle markets in Brazil and India, as well as an increased demand from the truck market in North America and Europe. Flexonics' muscle in diesel engines generates more than 40% of Senior's revenue. The division is positioned for minimal exposure to the passenger vehicle and heavy truck markets, which accounts for less than 15% of Flexonics' revenues. Moreover, the impact of the economic crisis, which dealt a particularly hard blow to the automotive industry, is reduced by the division's concentration on components for smaller more fuel-efficient front-wheel-drive vehicles. Flexonics looks to push up its heavy duty diesel products in the oil and gas, chemical processing, and power generation industries. Renewable energy and nuclear markets are also targets for the division's operations.